South America 2026

Our last stop was Rio de Janeiro. Even though we weren't there during Carnival, there was plenty to do in the city. And we even got to go to the beach, even though it was winter there.

Uruguay has been called “the land of one city and the surrounding cattle ranch.” Nevetheless, it ranks among the top in South America in terms of GDP (per capita) and the HDI index.

Paraguay is slightly larger than Finland in terms of both area and population. However, with the exception of Argentines and Brazilians, the country doesn't see many tourists.

In Argentina, we visited the capital, Buenos Aires. That counts only as a first glimpse though, since the country itself extends another 3,000 kilometers to the south.

The Iguazu, Victoria, and Niagara Falls are all among the world's largest by some measure. Iguazu is the widest, spanning 2.7 kilometers and featuring 275 waterfalls.

Our next nature destination was the Pantanal wetland region in central Brazil. We explored the area on a four-day excursion around the Cuiabá River.

We flew northwest for nearly four hours from São Paulo to Manaus, in the heart of the Amazon region. A four-day rainforest expedition awaited us there.

The journey began in São Paulo, which has twice as many inhabitants as the whole of Finland. Fortunately, we’re good at making ourselves at home...